Chapter 5. Vampires from Amars
Teaser The Amars mistake Tsukimi's getup for cosplay and she plays along. Shuu goes to Amamizukan to meet Tsukimi, but their game and appearance distract him from his purpose and he leaves without realizing he was talking to her the whole time. As he leaves they accidentally make eye contact and Tsukimi develops her own crush on him. Summary Tsukimi runs back to Amamizukan in a panic, leaving her clothes and glasses at the Koibuchi house in her haste. She worries that the Amars will believe she has betrayed them by putting on makeup and stylish clothes. Tsukimi frantically washes her face in a water fountain. She thinks of Kuranosuke as an evil, effeminate, sorcerer, and making ugly girls dress up must be a new form of bullying. Tsukimi arrives back at Amamizukan, carefully peaking into the hall. She's relieved that no one appears to be around and, holding her wet hair, makes a dash for her room. Banba comes out into the hall at exactly the wrong moment and Tsukimi runs head-long into her, sending her onto the floor. Hearing the commotion, Mayaya comes out and immediately rushes to Banba. She spouts alarm, naming the deed of hurting Banba as an act worthy of one of the villains from her manga. Mayaya looks up, spots Tsukimi hiding behind her hair, and starts calling for Chieko, claiming a long-haired swamp creature is in the building. In her frantic rushing about, Mayaya knocks into the fish tank and Tsukimi calls out for Clara in alarm. Chieko comes out and hearing that it's Tsukimi, wonders what has happened to her. "You look like a Chinese hopping vampire!" she says, referring to a Japanese cult classic. Banba finally speaks, laughing her agreement with Chieko's comment. Mayaya starts to agree, believing that Tsukimi wearing the dress as a part of a vampire cosplay. Playing along, Tsukimi gets up and hops her wait to her room while Mayaya chants about casting out evil spirits. I the privacy of her room, Tsukimi breaths a sigh of relief and goes hunting for her old pair of glasses. She puts them on and looks at her reflection, thinking, A monster...? Shuu works up his courage to ask Kuranosuke about who the girl who just came out of his room, but fails after the first couple of attempts. When he finally succeeds, Kuranosuke immediately is amused by his brother forming an instant crush on Tsukimi. Kuranosuke agrees to tell him in exchange for the address of his mother Lina. Shuu claims he doesn't know, but Kuranosuke helps him anyway, but not without playing with him first. "By the way, that girl... is a virgin. She's a really sweet girl."Princess Jellyfish manga Kodansha (2-in-1 Edition): Volume 1, Chapter 5, Page 138 Kuranosuke continues, spinning Tsukimi's otaku traits into attractive hobbies and qualifications: her hobby is drawing, she's a lady-like, late-bloomer. She even lives nearby in that retro building. Shuu reacts to this news in particular, asking Kuranosuke if he means Amamizukan. Kuranosuke compliments his brother's politician brain for coming up with the building name like that. Shuu starts to correct him, explaining that he's pretty sure that building is a part of the a current redevelopment plan, but Kuranosuke is busy stuffing Tsukimi's things into a bag. He pushes the bag at his older brother and tells him that they're Tsukimi's things she left behind. Why doesn't he go bring them to her now? Shuu arrives at Amamizukan and gets out of the car, carrying the bag. He pauses for a moment and slips into a daydream of the beautiful Tsukimi all flustered and happy that he came to return her things. Just when the increasingly beautiful fantasy Tsukimi is confessing she's always wanted to speak to him, reality hits Shuu—literally. He starts to fall, catching himself with his hand while the person in sweatclothes who ran into him is on the ground. He adjusts his glasses and turns, only to see the girl immediately surrounded by two other women, one of whom is slapping an anti-vampire talisman on her fallen friend's forehead. The other woman, who sports an afro, already has one stuck to her forehead. Tsukimi opens her eyes to see Shuu looking at her askance. She immediately recognizes him as Kuranosuke's older brother and recalls having rushed past him earlier. Then she spots the bag with her glasses and clothes on the ground and immediately scoots over to them, thanking him for bringing them all the way over. Mayaya and Banba aren't watching this interaction at all, barely even aware of Shuu's presence. Shuu stutters, trying to clarify that the items belong to a Tsukimi who lives in the building. Tsukimi stutters an answer in return, "Y-yes, that's right! Thank you very much!"Princess Jellyfish manga Kodansha (2-in-1 Edition): Volume 1, Chapter 5, Page 146 Chieko calls out to everyone that she's made tea with a special cake as a treat and they all go rushing in, excited. Shuu is left alone outside, more than a little perplexed and weirded out. As the Amars start to eat, Tsukimi looks out the window at Kuranosuke's brother, who's settling into the car. He looks up and makes eye contact with her. He gives a smile and a nod, and Tsukimi feels very struck by it. As the car pulls away, Shuu shudders, acknowledging that the women had given him the creeps and thinks it's probably best that building is going to be demolished. Later, Tsukimi flips through one of her jellyfish books, thinking that if Kuranosuke is a flashy flower fish jelly, then his intellectual older brother is... the cool guy of the jellyfish world, sanderia malayensis. It's uncanny! Then it strikes her as odd that the two brothers aren't that alike. Dressed in girl clothes, Kuranosuke welcomes Shuu back and asks how it went. Shuu says that the only people he saw there were a bunch of creepy women, like an otaku army. Kuranosuke asks if one of them had glasses and pigtails, and Shuu says that girl had been particularly creepy. Kuranosuke laments to himself that the magic had ended before Shuu got there. The topic changes when Shuu picks up from their previous conversation and asks Kuranosuke what his plan is if he does see his mother again. Kuranosuke says there's no plan, he just wants to get another look at her expansive closet. And, he wouldn't mind trying some of those clothes on Tsukimi. Tsukimi is alone in her room, drawing, and thinking about a phrase that says girls become pretty when they fall in love. She wonders that means a girl who doesn't fall in love stays ugly forever. But what if they develop passions instead of falling in love with a flesh-and-blood man? That moment... when Shuu's eyes had met hers... Tsukimi can't finish the thought because Kuranosuke bursts into the room, berating her for not using a cleansing cream on her face when she took the make up off. Tsukimi unsuccessfully tried to get away, and wishes that she'll never become a pretty girl. Characters in Order of Appearance Quotes * * Trivia References Category:Manga Category:Volume 1